Will Heat have their pick of buyout possibilities?

ASK IRA:

Ask Ira is a daily feature of the Sun Sentinel

February 25, 2014|By Ira Winderman, South Florida Sun Sentinel

MIAMI — Q: Who is your choice for the Heat to sign as a free agent? Caron Butler knows Dwyane Wade very well and has a great work ethic, and probably would accept minor minutes. Danny Granger, even if he doesn't play, could give up Pacers' secrets. And Metta World Peace doesn't play like Ron Artest anymore. -- Martin.

A: First of all, of the three you mentioned, only World Peace currently is on the market, and, to be candid, with good reason. As you mention, he hasn't been the same player for years. As far as Butler and Granger, I might lean toward Butler, only because of the deep and enduring affection he has for the organization. But neither Butler nor Granger currently are available. I think what you might see is the Heat sign a player to a 10-day contract, and then survey the full field of those available. Remember, a player has to be waived by March 1 to be playoff eligible, but can be signed any time thereafter and still have playoff eligibility elsewhere.

Q: The Heat have the same record as they did last year at this mark, better than two of the previous three seasons, and only three out of our next 12 games are against teams with winning records (Spurs once and Rockets twice). All of this while the Pacers have pushed the hardest they ever have and Miami was on cruise control with health and rotation issues. -- Julio.

A: Got to be pretty discouraging to the Pacers, doesn't it?

Q: LeBron James losing out on Player of the Week doesn't matter. LeBron doesn't need to be reminded every week of the kind of player he is. He already is the best player in the world. -- Rafael.

A: Fine, but to have not won it since the first week of December, with no Heat player winning this calendar year? It's not Player of the Week, it's the NBA's let's-get-the-name-of-another-player-out-there weekly honor. Again, since LeBron won Eastern Conference Player of the Week on Dec. 2, among the winners amid LeBron's absence have been Thaddeus Young, Jared Sullinger and now Kemba Walker. Really? The save grace: Later this week LeBron will be named Player of the Month for February, with Erik Spoelstra Eastern Conference Coach of the Month for February.